KARNATAKA PROPOSES TO AMEND ANTI-PIRACY LAW

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENNAI 002227

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD PGOV KIPR IN
SUBJECT: KARNATAKA PROPOSES TO AMEND ANTI-PIRACY LAW

REF: 05 CHENNAI 0975


1. Summary: Following in the footsteps of their Tamil Nadu
counterparts, the Karnataka police propose to amend an existing law
intended to fight street crime to include video piracy. The
ineffectiveness of the existing anti-piracy law in Karnataka
prompted the local Kannada language film industry to demand an
amendment. Karnataka Chief Minister Kumarasamy, himself a former
film producer, is expected to drive the process forward. Local
representatives of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) of America
believe an amendment would significantly impact piracy crime in
Karnataka. Elsewhere, in a sign of rising awareness of the problem,
Pondicherry police shut down the operations of a local video store
owner who pirated movies on the side. However, distribution of
pirated movies over the Internet poses a challenge to the state
police forces as they lack technical expertise to investigate and
prosecute such cases. End Summary

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Anti-piracy Example from Tamil Nadu Bears Fruit
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2. Spurred by the success of the Tamil Nadu police in combating
video piracy, the Karnataka police are examining the possibility of
amending the Karnataka Goondas Act to bring piracy under its purview
(see Ref A). M.K. Srivastava, Additional Director General in the
Karnataka Police who oversees the enforcement of the Karnataka's
anti-piracy law, told Post that currently repeat offenders usually
go back into business in a matter of days as magistrates tend to
grant them bail. The Karnataka police seize the offenders' compact
disk (CD) burners to make the operation uneconomic; however the
impact on pirates is minimal.

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Karnataka to Follow Tamil Nadu's Foot Steps
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3. Video piracy in Karnataka has begun to have an impact on the
local Kannada language movie industry. The industry had a good run
in 2005 but Kannada movie producers are concerned that unless action
is taken they could be the next targets. Kumar Bangarappa, a
Kannada movie actor and former Karnataka irrigation minister, told
Post that the market for Kannada movies is small and the loss of
revenue from even one center has an impact. With Karnataka Chief
Minister Kumarasamy also a film producer, Bangarappa is sure that
the Karnataka Goodas Act will be amended to cover video piracy.
This optimism is shared by Karnataka's Director General of Police,
B.S. Sial who told Post that the Chief Minister is interested in
amending the law.

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Hollywood to Benefit from Karnataka Crack Down
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4. Video piracy in neighboring Tamil Nadu dropped significantly
after the Tamil Nadu Goondas Act was amended to include piracy in
the list of offenses. Raja Pannir Selvam, a legal counsel employed
MPA to represent its interests in south India, told Post that the
act had curbed piracy considerably. Most pirated copies of
Hollywood movies seized in Tamil Nadu come from Malaysia or from
neighboring states of Karnataka and Kerala, according to Narender
Pal Singh, Additional Director General of Tamil Nadu. He added that
those prosecuted spend a year in prison and then have to spend
another year appearing before various courts, which usually puts
them out of business. Bangalore, with its presence of a large
information technology industry, has emerged as major center for
pirating of Hollywood movies, MPA's Pannir Selvam told Post. The
MPA has helped the Karnataka police bust a massive pirated CD
production facility in that city, but the offenders are back in
business as they were arrested for the first time and were able to
secure bail. Amending the Goondas Act in Karnataka would have
stopped them, he said.

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Pondicherry Police Crack Down on Pirated CDs
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5. Elsewhere in south India, Pondicherry has been another large
source of pirated movies, according to MPA's Pannir Selvam.
Pressure from the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu and the MPA forced
the Pondicherry police to shut down a prominent video parlor in the
city on August 16, 2006. The politically well connected owner of
the establishment, a known pirate, eluded the Pondicherry police,
however. MPA representatives told Post he had been tipped off by
informants within the police. They draw some satisfaction, however,

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from the fact that the local police force had finally acted.

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Web Piracy Challenges State Police Forces
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6. Comment: Increased pressure from state police forces has forced
pirates in south India to switch from selling CDs to sending movies
as compressed files over the Internet. Both Singh of the Tamil Nadu
police and Srivastava of the Karnataka police told Post that they
have received increased reports of pirates switching to the
Internet. Their respective forces are incapable of intercepting,
investigating and prosecuting such transactions, however. At
present, they claim, only the central government has the trained
manpower and equipment to fight piracy on the web. Enhanced
capacity for state police forces to fight web-based piracy is needed
to improve enforcement of intellectual property rights across India.
End Comment.

HOPPER